The present invention relates generally to a storage protector for hardback books. More particularly, this invention pertains to a support for pages in stored books.
Books are one of the world""s most valuable resources for education, reference, entertainment and pleasure. Nearly every household in modern civilization contains at least a few, some a great many, books. Hardback books are available in every size and have become increasingly more expensive and valuable. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly more important to protect books from damage to maintain their like-new quality and retain their value. This is especially true for book collections containing old or out of print books that are hard to duplicate.
Most hardback books are constructed with the cover extending approximately xe2x85x9 to xc2xc of an inch beyond the edge of the pages. The most common method of storing books when not in use is to stand the book on end on a shelf or between bookends. When books are positioned in this manner the bottom edges of the hard cover rest on the surface of the shelf and the pages. However, the bulk of the weight of the book, the pages, are suspended between the front and back cover and are dependent upon the strength of the binding to hold them in place. After time, sometimes a very short period of time, the binding weakens and pulls away from the spine at the top allowing the pages to droop and causing permanent damage to the book.
What is needed, then, is a spacer that will fit easily into the bottom end of any book to prevent this or any further damage of this nature from occurring.
This device is created as a spacer that will fit easily into the bottom end of any book to prevent page drooping damage of this nature from occurring.
The device consists of a firm, rectangular body with flexible arms affixed to each side of the body. The arms are placed inside the front and back covers of the book at the bottom end with the spacer lying flat against the bottom edge of the pages. When standing upright, on a shelf for instance, the pages rest on the spacer. This prevents the stress of the weight of the pages from separating the binding from the spine of the book.
The dimensions of the body of the device will be variable. Standard widths will range from xc2xd inch to 2 inches in increments of xc2xd inch. The depth of the body of the device will be manufactured in different depths, with standard depth being xe2x85x9 and xc2xc inch with optional, adhesive-backed additions of {fraction (1/16)} inch depth that can be used as needed to make the device adjustable to any book. The length of the body of the device will be approximately 2 inches.
The arms are constructed of thin, posterboard-like material and are affixed to the body of the device with a flexible material that will allow the arms to lie flat in a horizontal line with the body of the device (this position allows the device to be used as a bookmark) or to be folded at a 90xc2x0 angle perpendicular to the body of the device for placement in the book for storage on a shelf.
The dimensions of the arms of the device will be approximately 2 inches in width (the length of the body) and 4 inches long. The outside surface of one tab will be manufactured with a peel-off backing on an adhesive strip that will allow for the option of semi-permanent fixation to the inside back cover of the book.
When in use in a book stored in the upright position the device is essentially invisible inside the covers and underneath the pages in its supporting position. When the book is in use or being read, the device can be folded to a flat position for use as a bookmark or temporary storage inside the back cover of the book.